Washington
Transit Proposal Also Funds Roads, Putting Voters In A Pickle
A proposal to expand Seattle's light rail system also includes provisions for extensive road construction, putting transit advocates in the awkward position of voting for both transit and roads.
Ugly Architecture: Does It Have An Alibi?
This commentary from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer looks at the idea that buildings can make us happy, and asks why we put up with buildings that make us unhappy.
Friday Funny: Just Like The Village Trolley -- Everybody Gets A Ride
Before its planners had realized what they'd done, a proposed name for a planned streetcar system in Seattle -- the South Lake Union Trolley, or SLUT -- had already slipped out into the public.
Crime And Misuse Has Many Calling For Removal Of Automated Toilets
With constant complaints from the public and consistent reports of drug dealing and prostitution, Seattle's automated public toilets may be on their way out.
Microsoft Unveils Private Bus System (Windows Included)
Microsoft has announced the launch of a private 14-bus transit system to serve its employees in the Seattle area. Transit advocates say the plan underscores the transit deficiencies faced by the region.
The Decline Of Seattle's Creeks
This audio report discusses the creeks of Seattle and how years of neglect, abuse, and pollution have endangered fish species, destroyed wetlands, and caused big problems for the area's storm drainage.
Closely Connected Northwest Cities Need To Plan Together
This editorial calls on the governments of Portland, Oregon, and its intimately-connected neighbor, Vancouver, Washington, to expand the reach of the metropolitan planning agency whose jurisdiction ends at the border between the two cities.
How Seattle Commuters Outwitted the Clog That Wasn't
Seattle's free-flowing experience with more than two weeks of freeway lane closures -- predicted to be traffic Armageddon -- shows that the conventional wisdom about traffic isn't always right.
What To Do With Seattle's Elevated Highway
PBS's NewsHour covers the debate over the future of downtown Seattle's raised highway -- an issue that has a renewed sense of importance after the Minnesota bridge collapse.
Seattle Struggles To Fund Sidewalks
More than 650 miles of Seattle streets have no sidewalks, and residents are demanding them. But with limited transportation funding, the city is struggling to find ways to pay for sidewalk construction.
Taking A Streetcar Test Drive
In a fact-finding mission to see if the technology is right for their city, officials from Vancouver, Washington, will hop over the state line to Portland to try out the city's streetcar system.
Seattle May Not Need Alaskan Way Viaduct
Seattle finds out that closing their major highway doesn't result in traffic chaos. Maybe closing another one - the Alaskan Way Viaduct - permanently, as some citizens would like to see, is more feasible that some would have us believe.
Development Threatens Wetlands
Citizens and homeowners in Washington have teamed up against a number of proposed housing developments that would replace more than 100 acres of open space and wetlands.
Condo Conversions Leaving Seniors Stranded
The wave of condo conversions in the Seattle area is hitting seniors especially hard.
Roadwork Boosts Transit Ridership
With major roadwork underway on a stretch of heavily-used Interstate 5 in Seattle, many commuters chose public transit to avoid the resulting congestion. But many are wondering whether commuters will keep using transit after the work is done.
Urban Villages Struggling To Attract Jobs
Three mixed-use, walkable urban villages near Seattle have become very popular with residents since their creation in the '80s and '90s. But while small businesses prosper and home vacancies remain low, few jobs are available.
How Seattle Has Grown
Urban geographer Richard Morrill discusses the history of growth in Seattle, the influences that cause it, and which of the influences can be controlled.
Seattle Puts Double-Decker Buses Into Service
Hoping to boost capacity without using additional road space, Seattle will become only the second city in the nation to put the London style buses into service.
Townhomes Sprouting Up In Seattle
Hundreds of new townhomes are being built in neighborhoods across Seattle. Neighbors want input into the new housing, but a loophole allows development to move forward under the radar.
Seattle Moves To Preserve Historic Downtown Structures
With a wave of new development underway downtown, the City of Seattle has nominated 37 structures as historic landmarks, and has plans for even more preservation efforts.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
